Offering kids opportunities for creative expression is essential for their mental and emotional wellbeing.
Journaling is one of the most versatile activities for kids to engage in, and you can encourage your child to write about any topic they choose.
While some kids have a designated time to write in their journal, yours might prefer to jot down their ideas as they come.
Some kids prefer a formal paperback journal. Others love typing up their thoughts on their computer.
Allowing your child to choose how they keep a journal makes it more likely that they’ll keep up the practice. Whether they’re writing with a colored pen or typing, you’ll enjoy knowing that they’re gaining benefits that last a lifetime.
How Journaling Benefits Your Child
The process of journaling gives your child the chance to engage in self-reflection.
Your child might choose to write about a specific event during their day. They may also enjoy using prompts.
Journaling is a great way to wind down before bed and focus on what went well and what they are grateful for.
Either way, they’ll experience multiple benefits for their emotional and mental health that you’ll see emerging in their life.
Learn How to Identify Confusing Emotions
Kids often struggle with identifying how they feel in new situations. Your child might not be sure if they feel sad or angry about a conflict they had with a friend.
One tactic life coaches often suggest is for kids to start their journal page by drawing an emoji.
Adding artwork to the page can help kids begin narrowing down their emotional state. Once they’ve identified how they are feeling, they can continue writing to explore their complicated emotions.
Strengthen Writing Skills
Writing is an essential method for communication that your kid will use throughout their life. Journaling allows your child to write about anything they want, which makes writing more fun.
While it’s important for kids to write freely in their journal, they’ll still be practicing putting their thoughts into words, which improves their writing skills all around.
Develop Problem-Solving Abilities
Analyzing a problem from a different perspective helps kids find new solutions for conflicts in their lives.
If your child is struggling with a challenge at school, then you can encourage them to brainstorm possible solutions.
They could also write about a relationship conflict from the other person’s perspective.
Trying out new ideas within the safety of a journal’s pages helps your child stretch their ability to resolve conflicts.
Reduce the Mental and Physical Effects of Stress
When students engage in expressive writing, it’s been found that they have reduced markers of physical stress.
Lower blood pressure and fewer stress-related visits to the doctor are possible benefits kids enjoy when they write in their journal.
Recognize Personal Growth Through Self-Reflection
The immediate benefits of journaling for kids is clear, but there are a few upsides that your kid may notice later.
Reading back through their entries allows your kid to see their past experiences in a new light.
Seeing how they overcame a personal challenge can help reinforce your child’s self-confidence.
They can also use their recent writings to track their emotional and social development over time.
Another powerful method they can utilize while journaling is to write to themselves as they would write a letter to a friend. We often offer lots of love and support to our friends but we can be hard on ourselves.
Breathing positivity and life into themselves through their written words is a powerful and vital part of growth and retraining their minds to seek the good, not only in others but themselves as well.
Conclusion
Journaling provides kids with a safe outlet to release stress that hinders their ability to relax.
Kids who journal also strengthen their communication skills and learn how to solve common problems that arise as they grow.
Encouraging your kid to keep a journal sets them up with a hobby they can use for self-reflection throughout any stage in life.
